The latest incoming class for the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame could be featuring Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Bernard King and Rick Pitino as the nominees for September's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony were announced Friday afternoon.
Hailing from Houston, the NBA unveiled its list of nominees for enshrinement at Springfield, Mass.
That list that includes Payton, Hardaway, King, University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, former University of Houston coach Guy V. Louis, former NBA stars Mitch Richmond, Maurice Cheeks and Spencer Haywood, Jerry Tarkanian, Dawn Staley and women's college coach Sylvia Hatchell.
Known as "the Glove" for his defensive tenacity, Payton, in his 17-year NBA career, was the only point guard to ever win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and has been widely considered as one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. He amassed 21,813 points and 8,966 assists with 2,445 steals from 1990 through 2007.
He struggled during the first two seasons of his career after being drafted by the Seattle Supersonics--now the Oklahoma City Thunder--with the No.2 pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, but took off shortly after that, teaming with Shawn Kemp to form the "Sonic Boom" tandem that led Seattle to the 1996 NBA Finals.
A nine-time All-Star, nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Payton, who holds Seattle franchise records in points, assists and steals, capped his career in 2006 by winning the elusive NBA championship with the Miami Heat before retiring in 2007.
"A guy coming from Oakland , California, I never dreamed of this," Payton, 44, said Friday during the special live press conference announcing the Hall of Fame nominees, the defensive stalwart saying that, if inducted, it would be an honor to be enshrined alongside his heroes, as well as to be going in with Richmond and Hardaway, whom he used to battle hard with during the 1990s when each of them were in their primes.
Also on the list of potential Hall of Fame nominees is Hardaway, a five time NBA All-Star and a member of the 2000 Olympic basketball champion Team USA. Hardaway, who played with Golden State and Miami, tallied 15,373 points while averaging 20-plus points for four consecutive seasons. He currently ranks 13th in NBA history in both career assists (7,095) and three-point field goals (1,542). His crossover dribble became an iconic move that many players still try to emulate to this day.
Meanwhile, Richmond, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1989, was on three All-NBA Second Teams and played 14 seasons in the NBA, while scoring 20,497 points and averaging more than 21 points per game for 10 consecutive seasons. He capped his remarkable career with an NBA title playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal for the L.A. Lakers in 2002.
Brooklyn native King, who was New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony's idol growing up, is a four-time NBA All-Star, a former scoring champion and netted over 22 points per game during his 15-year career with the then-New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Washington Bullets.
Pitino, a collegiate coaching legend, is the only coach in men's history to lead three different colleges to NCAA Final Four appearances with Providence College, University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. Under Pitino's intense tutelage, Kentucky won the 1996 NCAA National Championship and then went back to the NCAA title game again in 1997.
The final inductees for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 will be announced at the NCAA Final Four in April.
For a full list of NBA Hall of Fame finalists, visit the NBA's official web site.